In 1910, the Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester & Dubuque Electric Traction Company built a 37 mile route between Northfield and 44th Street in Minneapolis.
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A second route would be constructed in 1915, connecting Auto Club Junction (along the Minnesota River) to West Minneapolis.
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These two routes became a part of the Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern Railway in 1918.  
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The MNS was a small local freight hauler in the Minneapolis area.  It served independently until 1982, when it was purchased by the Soo Line.
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In 1984, Canadian Pacific Railway gained complete control of the Soo Line.  Unfortunately for this route, the major connections of the Milwaukee Road, Chicago & North Western, Rock Island and Chicago Great Western all sold or removed their area trackage.
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Currently, Canadian Pacific owns the route between West Minneapolis and Lakeville, although Savage to Lakeville does not operate.  The bridge across the Minnesota River is owned by the Twin Cities & Western Railroad, and Progressive Rail owns the tracks between Lakeville and Northfield.